The border community of Douglas, Arizona has had a substantial influx of Mexican immigrants over the past decade. Most have no health insurance and are at high risk for chronic disease. Since resources are insufficient and the services needed are scattered among many different providers, the community has undertaken a major effort to develop partnerships and collaborative networks to establish an integrated service delivery system, and more generally, to build community capacity. The Southwest Center for Community Health Promotion at the University of Arizona is working closely with the Douglas community to help them accomplish these goals. As part of the Center’s efforts, a network analysis was conducted in spring 2000. Its purpose was to assess the level of collaboration among the 23 agencies that provided a full range of health and human services for chronic disease prevention, screening, and treatment. Data were also collected on levels of trust and anticipated outcomes (benefits and drawbacks). The study’s findings were then presented at a meeting of agency and community leaders. The SW Center worked with these individuals to help them use the network analysis to build an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of their community collaboration efforts, and as a planning tool to continue to build community capacity regarding chronic disease programs. The APHA presentation will include the results of the network analysis, the methods used, and the approaches used by the SW Center to draw on the network analysis to help the Douglas community build community capacity.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Community Collaboration, Network Analysis
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.